After months of leaks, premature retailer listings, and carefully worded non-announcements, Humax has finally published some official information about the AuraEZ Freely 4K Recorder on its website.
And whilst they still haven’t told us when we can actually buy the thing, we’ve got answers to the biggest question that’s been hanging over this device since it first appeared back in September: what can it actually record?
The answer, as most of us suspected all along, is that recording works only from traditional aerial-based Freeview channels.
Freely’s streaming channels are accessible but not recordable. It’s official now, straight from Humax: “Recording and traditional live pause features require an aerial connection.”
So the Aura EZ (also known as Humax FHR-6000T) is exactly what we thought it would be – a hybrid device that bridges two worlds.
You get Freely’s streaming platform for live channels and catch-up content, plus traditional Freeview recording capabilities for everything that comes through your aerial.
It’s a transitional product, built for people who aren’t ready to give up recording control but want access to Freely’s expanding channel lineup and unified interface.
Whether that compromise makes sense at £249 depends entirely on what you need from your TV setup and how the AuraEZ stacks up against the competition that has emerged. But for now, here’s everything we know about Humax’s upcoming box.
- February 12 Update: The Humax AuraEZ has now been officially launched
The Freely box market heats up
Quick context for anyone who hasn’t been following the Freely saga: Freely launched in April 2024 as Everyone TV’s streaming platform designed to eventually replace traditional Freeview and Freesat.
The platform delivers live TV channels and catch-up content entirely through your broadband connection – no aerial or satellite dish required.
You get BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 5, and around 60 other channels, all streamed over the internet rather than broadcast over the airwaves.
Until recently, accessing Freely meant buying a brand new TV from select manufacturers. That frustrated viewers with perfectly good TVs who were curious about Freely but weren’t ready to spend hundreds of pounds on new hardware just to try it.
The standalone Freely box market has gone from zero devices to fierce competition in just three months.
The Netgem Pleio (see my review) launched in November 2025 at £99, running Android TV 14 with full Google Play Store access, 250+ cloud games, and streaming-only delivery. After some pricing turbulence (£119.88 in January), it’s currently back at £99 following Manhattan’s entry into the market.
Manhattan’s Aero launched on February 6 for £69.99 and sold out at Currys within 24 hours.
Running TiVo OS rather than Android TV, it offers 60+ Freely channels, major streaming apps, and both Wi-Fi 6 and Ethernet connectivity – undercutting the Pleio significantly whilst adding the wired connection the Pleio lacks.
Both devices are streaming-only with no recording capabilities whatsoever.
For viewers who’ve made peace with the shift away from recording and just want an affordable way to get Freely on an existing TV, they’re currently the available options – when you can actually find them in stock.
The AuraEZ sits in a completely different category. At £249 for the 2TB model, it costs more than three Aero boxes or two and a half Pleios. You’re paying that premium specifically for recording capability – and, for keeping one foot in the Freeview world whilst dipping the other into Freely’s streaming future.
What we now know about the AuraEZ
Humax has now published a proper product page for the AuraEZ, complete with marketing copy, specifications, and a FAQ section that addresses the recording question head-on.
The information is currently sitting on the same webpage as the discontinued Freeview Aura, which suggests someone at Humax might have uploaded it a bit prematurely (again). Note: That listing has since been removed, so, yes, it was apparently published prematurely.
But here’s what we can learn from that page, and the Richer Sounds product page.
Humax’s pitch mentions “Two brilliant TV experiences. One simple box.” The AuraEZ combines traditional Freeview recording capabilities with Freely’s streaming platform, allowing you to use either depending on what you’re watching.
Recording capabilities (with an aerial connected):
- Record up to four channels simultaneously whilst watching a fifth live
- 2TB hard drive storing up to 1,000 hours of recordings
- Full series recording so you never miss an episode
- Pause, rewind, and restart live TV
Freely streaming (via Wi-Fi, no aerial required):
- 60+ live TV channels
- 75,000+ hours of on-demand content
- All the major UK broadcaster services in one interface
- No monthly subscription
Technical specifications:
- Three tuners (enabling those four simultaneous recordings)
- Android TV 12
- 4K HDR support with Dolby Digital Plus audio
- HDMI 2.1 connection
- Both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, plus Ethernet
- Aerial input and loop-through ports
- 1x USB 3.0 port and 1x USB 2.0 port
- Dimensions: 280mm x 200mm x 53mm
- 3GB RAM, 16GB internal storage
The device includes both wired and wireless connectivity options, addressing one of the complaints about the Wi-Fi-only Netgem Pleio.
The recording reality
Let’s be clear about what this actually means in practice.
When you’re watching channels via your aerial – BBC One, ITV, Channel 4, and everything else available through traditional Freeview – you get full recording capabilities (as you do on any other Freeview recorder box).
Schedule recordings, pause live TV, build up a library of content, skip through the adverts on playback. All the things people value about recording are there, as long as you’re using the aerial input.
Switch to Freely’s streaming interface (accessed via a dedicated button on the remote), and recording disappears.
You can then stream live channels, you can scroll backwards through the EPG to access catch-up content, and Freely offers 15 minutes of pause/restart functionality across all its devices.
But you can’t record programmes from Freely’s streaming channels onto the hard drive.
Humax’s FAQ makes this explicit:
Can I record Freely programmes?
“Recording is available for live TV received via an aerial using the Humax recorder. Freely streamed content is designed for live viewing and on-demand playback over Wi-Fi and does not use the hard drive for recording.”
This isn’t Humax being difficult – it’s the fundamental limitation that’s prevented any manufacturer from offering streaming recording on Freely.
The industry’s direction is absolutely clear, and Humax can’t magic up streaming recording functionality that the entire broadcasting ecosystem has been built to prevent.
The AuraEZ gives you both worlds – traditional recording where it’s still possible (via aerial), and Freely streaming for everything else. Whether that’s a useful compromise or an expensive half-measure depends entirely on your viewing habits and how much you value recording control.
It’s also worth noting that on Freely TVs, the broadcast defaults to the over-the-air version when an aerial is connected. If that remains the same on the AuraEZ, it means you’ll be watching the Freeview versions of most channels, instead of the streaming versions – as long as the aerial stays connected.
Streaming apps: the big unknown
The AuraEZ manual mentions YouTube and Prime Video, and obviously you’ll get all the Freely broadcaster apps – BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My5, U (UKTV Play), BBC Sounds, and more. But what about everything else?
This is where things get murky. The AuraEZ runs Android TV 12, which is a step up from the original Aura’s Android TV 9 but behind the Netgem Pleio’s Android TV 14.
More importantly, what type of Android TV experience are we getting?
The original Aura famously never got Netflix despite running Android TV, and NOW TV was also absent.
Will this be a full Android TV experience with access to the Google Play Store, or another locked-down implementation with limited app support? Humax hasn’t said so far.
The mobile app
The Humax AuraEZ app is on its way, though Humax hasn’t provided a timeframe for when it’ll actually arrive.
Once available, the app will let you schedule recordings remotely, manage and review your planned recordings, and play back compatible recordings on supported devices.
This matches features available on previous Humax devices – the ability to set recordings whilst you’re out, stream recordings to your phone, or download shows to watch later on the move.
What we still don’t know
Despite Humax finally going official with product information, some rather important questions remain unanswered.
Launch date: Richer Sounds’ website now says “Mid-February” for expected stock, but Humax still hasn’t confirmed anything official. We’re already well into February, so “mid-February” means the next week or so – if that timing holds.
Retailers: Currently, only Richer Sounds and Euronics stores have listed the device. It will likely be available in places like Currys, Amazon, Argos and other major retailers – but nothing’s been confirmed yet.
Simultaneous operation: With three tuners, presumably you could watch Freely streaming content whilst recording Freeview channels in the background – but Humax hasn’t explicitly confirmed this.
It would make sense given the hardware, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Who is this actually for?
The AuraEZ makes sense for a fairly specific audience – people who value recording but want access to Freely’s unified streaming platform as well.
You probably want this if:
- You still value recording and aren’t ready to rely entirely on catch-up services
- You want to skip adverts on recorded content rather than sitting through them on catch-up
- You have good Freeview aerial reception and want to keep using it
- You’re interested in Freely but want it as a complement to traditional TV rather than a replacement
- You’re building a library of content you want to keep long-term
- You’re willing to pay £249 for the flexibility of having both options
You probably don’t want this if:
- You’ve already made peace with streaming and catch-up being the future
- You rarely or never record programmes
- You don’t have an aerial connection or your Freeview reception is terrible
- £249 feels like too much when the Aero offers Freely for £69.99
The transitional compromise
The original Humax Aura launched in 2020 with considerable promise – a Freeview Play recorder running Android TV, combining traditional recording with modern streaming apps.
In practice, it struggled with reliability issues, Netflix never arrived, and software updates were minimal. When Humax discontinued it in January 2026, it had been on the market for five years but never quite fulfilled its potential.
Whether Humax has learned from those issues with the AuraEZ remains to be seen. Android TV 12 is newer but still not the latest version, and we don’t know how it will function yet.
More fundamentally, the AuraEZ exists because we’re in an awkward transitional period for UK television. Freeview and Freesat won’t be switched off tomorrow, but the direction is clear – streaming is replacing broadcast, and the infrastructure that makes traditional TV recording possible has a finite lifespan.
Research suggests Freeview could be switched off by 2034 – just eight years away.
That gives the AuraEZ roughly a decade of relevance before the aerial-based recording it’s built around becomes impossible as the transmitters get switched off.
For some households, a decade is plenty. The 2TB hard drive would continue working as a Freely streaming box even after aerial TV disappears, albeit as a very expensive way to access streaming services you could get from a £70 Aero.
The real test will be whether there’s actually demand for a £249 hybrid recorder in a market where cheaper streaming-only alternatives have been selling out repeatedly.
The Aero and Pleio have proven people want affordable Freely boxes. Whether they want expensive recording-capable Freely boxes is the question that’ll be answered once this actually launches.
For viewers who’ve been waiting for someone – anyone – to offer a Freely device with recording capabilities, this is probably as close as we’re going to get. The AuraEZ is that compromise, boxed up and priced at £249.
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They’ve been in such a rush to release this I assume they decided to release a half arsed product and not bother waiting for Google certification hence no Play Store etc. I would imagine at some point in the next few months they’ll achieve certification and make a big thing of it, conveniently forgetting it was present on the preceding model at the same price, from Day 1.
Got the refund on mine today. Brilliant service from Richer Sounds, as usual.
So I unpacked mine today and have had nothing but problems.
Initial set up was odd. It kind of went through the set up wizard twice.
I found that when it records things, you get 2 entries for the recording. 1 recording only last 2 seconds and then other recording is the proper one.
Very odd.
Decided to factory reset and start again, and since then nothing but problems.
Kept rebooting half way through set up then comes back. Finally finished set up, Freely app works fine but when I try and set up recordings, I sometimes get the following message
‘Recording is not available yet. Please wait for HDD to become available……”
When I look in the Device Preferences –> Storage –> Non removable storage, it says the Internal HDD has been safely ejected.
So I assume the hdd is not being mounted or something has happened to it.
I say I’m annoyed is an understatement. I have emailed Humax to see what they say but I am thinking of returning it.
You would think that with all the problems that the Aura had, that this box would be far better but it looks unfinished to me.
Not being able to change the day in the recordings guide is absolutely stupid and I can believe it isn’t there.
Also, why can I only use the Freeview guide to record things. Why can’t I watch them live.
This box appears so far to be unfinished. I am hoping that the hdd problem can be fixed with firmware otherwise I might just through it in a skip.
A small update. Returned the box to Richer sounds and am expecting a replacement to be delivered tomorrow. Will report back on whether the first box was faulty.
Yes, for sure your HDD looks like it isn’t mounted properly. I found a workaround but sad to report it’s behaving erratically again today, but, only in installing the Freely app, which crashes all the time and on my box reinstalls each time it goes to sleep overnight.
Yes, surely we’re all only being used like lab mice testing out this prototype Humax Freely Freeview recorder. Which is a better description of what it is, in my opinion.
Glad I took out the Richer Sounds extended warranty as it’s a certainty I’ll need it, unless they get an update that stabilises this product with the smartphone app still in development. For now, it’s all a bit of a work in progress. Although I’m a patient kind of guy, and that’s much needed with this product.
I received my replacement box and set it up last night.
Much better, hasn’t reset once. Recorded a few programs so the first one I received must have been faulty.
One thing that is odd is that I set tonights Match of the Day to record (Wednesday) and it has put 2 entries in for the series link both for tonight.
Will see if I get 2 recordings but I have set up other series links and they look correct so could just be a quirk of BBC series links. Has anyone else noticed this?
Still the freeview side still comes in for critisism. Why can I only record freeview channels and not watch them live?
Why can’t I move to next day in ther Recordings Guide and no search?
There is a big blank area at the bottom of the guide so hopefully that is space to show options.
I hope that they just ran out of time to implement them and that they will hopefully be patched in. The recording guide looks a bit unfinished to me. Just black and white.
In regards to watching Freeview channels live – after you scan for channels, the default EPG should have a mix of Freely-supported channels that default to aerial (if you have an aerial connected), such as the BBC’s channel. Direct Freely (streaming) channels like ITV. And aerial-only channels (that aren’t supported on Freely) such as That’s TV.
Can you find That’s TV in the main EPG (not the recordings one)?
Ah OK, I understand now. Yes, the guide does have That’s TV.
If I press the record button, it goes to the channel on the Freeview guide which is OK but they really missed a trick by if you move day on the Freely guide, it would have been good to move to that day on the freeview guide. Would have negated lack of next day.
Curiously, I turned the box on just now to check the channel listing and Freely failed to load so it revered back to a normal Freeview box.
In this state, the Freeview guide HAS a calendar symbol on it for changing the day. As soon as I reinstalled the Freely app, it disappears.
This box definitely has a few quirks and needs a few updates.
I got a reply from Humax with answers to my questions.
They are referring to it as a Freely box not Android TV so that is why the Google Play store is missing.
They seemed very non commital about any details on new apps or even firmware updates which is frustrating and with reference to the lack of next day feature on the Freeview guide, just agreed with me that is isn’t there at the moment.
I really hope there are new firmware updates in the pipeline but I am not holding my breath as the last Aura box was woefully supported which is a shame because I think this has the makings of a good box.
My box doesn’t do that. It’s all Freely for viewing nothing else and the Freeview channels via the recording menu which is, of course, for recording only.
I’m watching Thats TV on the Freely app too.
The terms are a bit confusing – yes, it’s all part of the Freely EPG, but on that same EPG some channels are streamed to you via broadband (such as ITV), and some don’t have a streaming version, therefore you get them via the aerial (such as That’s TV). So if you disconnect the aerial – you won’t be able to watch That’s TV (and other aerial-only channels).
I don’t understand people complaining about video quality on Freely, it’s fantastic!
I just got one, and what a disappointment it is.
Freely works but like the other reviewer says the quality is often well short of FHD, or frames per second in comparison with say Freeview, Freesat, Sky, or even my Firestick. However £249 for Freely alone is a rip-off, surely? The Manhattan Aero does more for £69.99. TIVO system? The box I received has no YouTube app as standard.
Other problem, currently my box doesn’t record Freeview or record any channels at all, never mind 4, whilst watching a 5th. You can’t record Freely channels anyway, but surely this is the whole point of Humax- recording TV? Is this a tuner issue? Seems much more serious.
The only thing the box does do well is amplify your existing aerial signal to the Telly. I’m using the signal in/out connections at the rear and the guide that comes with the unit says nothing wrong in that. So why the Humax has no Freeview channel guide on board other than basic at the recording menu is underwhelming.
I don’t know if this is just a faulty unit but this is basic for the price, lacks any decent interface for Freeview, and the version of Freely app on board is too basic.
Going straight back to the online retailer soon. I’m sure I’ve got a faulty one. The Humax Aura Freely promised much but doesn’t deliver at the price point. Beware these units seem factory fault ridden.
Returning it is the right move
Given:
• the price point
• the missing apps
• the non‑functioning PVR
• the poor Freely performance
• the underwhelming UI
• the possibility of a factory‑fault batch
*UPDATE*
Had to reformat the hard drive and then from there do a complete factory reset, reinstalling step by step from an unboxing stage again. Record function is now working through the basic Freeview list on recording menu.
Doesn’t come with YouTube, but has Watch Free UK, and PBS America.
In short this version of Freely is only worth it if you want the ability to record TV, (haven’t tried the smartphone app yet), amplify, looping, the existing aerial signal to your main TV. Otherwise it’s am expensive way to onboard Freely to your setup.
Hi Roderick,
How did you reformat the hard drive?
Is there an option to do it?
I seem to be having the same problem with the hdd
Hi Mike,
Yes mine came out of the factory a lot less than ‘plug & play’. You have to ‘reformat’ the HDD, lose anything recorded on it, to date, if it will, and the onboard Freely software etc, etc, will reinstall, on start up . A fresh install of it then. My box wasn’t configured properly out of the factory, via Richer Sounds online, and I just figured it. Yours might be similar?
Go to Menu, Device Preferences, and select Factory reset. It should reconfigure itself and reformat any HDD issues.
After that Freely may take 2 or 3 attempts at reinstalling itself and getting the latest updates.
Presently mine is working on that basis, but it can be fiddly, jumping between menu functions, as you can’t record Freely, and have to jump from one to the other via the record menu. It has no YouTube or TiVo. Also the phone app hasn’t been released yet?
Brilliant for recording telly though, fast forwarding through the ads etc.
Stick with it.
All I know is that ITV, Channel 4 and 5 look better on Freeview and Freesat than streaming on Roku streaming stick, phone and PC.
I love the ability to record 4 programs at once (thus being able to skip through ads) so bought the new aura ez 6000t as my old aura was failing. I dont really need the freely part as i already have a smart tv.
However i cannot find how to edit the channel list to a favourites list, and/or hide the channels i dont want, so it seems like i have to scroll through 112 channels whenever i want to add a recording.
Has anyone else found a solution for this please?
Got mine this afternoon. Decided on it because it supports remote record and has a more recent version of Android than the old Aura.
No Aura EZ remote record app yet and the existing Aura app doesn’t support it.
Programming recording is a pain as I haven’t found a way to step forward a day at a time.
Seems to default to Freely like my son’s Freely Panasonic TV. Can’t watch ITV on channel 3 until I sign in to ITVX! Can see it on channel 233 though. The cardboard box says 15 HD channels, so more than Freeview. eg BBC News is in HD on Freely. Channels that are HD on Freeview have Freely epg logos with HD on them. Difficult to know which others are HD as they’re not flagged in the epg channel name.
Seen some godawful pictures on random channels but I’m not clear if they’re Freely or not. Probably hitting pause will tell me but haven’t had time to investigate yet.
Live pause works on BBC News HD and Film 4 but not BBC1, BBC2, ITV, C4, 5. Others not checked yet…
At least this box has Film Four, unlike my old Humax box which is tripping over its own shoelaces now there are so many channels!
You can uninstall Freely. I might try that if it is possible to reinstall.
And, I’ve just had my first crash. Just watching BBC1 and the box just switched off.
I just received mine it very good I’m happy with it
Just a couple of quick observations from me. The picture of ITV1 has a bit of a judder which is very irritating. It’s also a very noisy box, even in standby the hard drive and fan is constantly running on standby. The recording features and playback are in a different section – looks to be very much an OTA or separate guide (doesn’t look like Freeview) for scheduling recordings. If you are looking to record ITV1, it is out of order in the guide – much lower down away from the main PSB channels. I’d say a solid start – let’s hope for some quick firmware/ software updates.
Well it has arrived and disappointingly there is no App Store or any of the additional apps needed to make this a one stop device. Seems to me a big opportunity missed. If it had the Pleio’s access to the App Store then it would have been a great product. As it is nothing other than the very basic Freely apps is not going to cut it against my AppleTV. I will continue to hope that Freely will be released as an App at some point in the future or I may be forced back into the overprices arms of Sky.
Just unpacked mine and can’t believe they’ve actually removed Google Play store. £250 for a set top box with 8 apps preinstalled and no option to add any more. 9/10 for the hype Humax built up around this product and 2/10 for the product itself, which is somehow a downgrade on the previous Aura 4k. Off to rebox it, such a disappointment.
I agree and no Netflix, Amazon Prime or You Tube and no remote recording app, backwards step to say the least – like you going back to Aura original box even though its unreliable better support
Well it’s just arrived a couple of days earlier than Richer quoted. Now the fun begins.
This seems to be freeview only what about a freesat input?
We still use our old dish with a HUMAX box even though it now no longer supports Iplayer making the start from the beginning facility redundant now!
Many households still have these old sky dishes but don’t have a freeview aerial, they are potentially missing out on many more sales if this group of people are excluded.
If you’re in need of a freeview recorder it may be worth considering. However, I have a freeview recorder, and I won’t need to replace it for a while, hopefully. I do, however, need a freely box, and the manhattan freely box might suit perfectly.
Just had the invoice from Richer and notification from DPD about delivery so let’s see when it arrives.
This does seem a waste of time. If you really want both services, you can get it right now: buy a Manhattan T4-R for the Freeview recording and their Aero box for the Freely. It’ll cost you £239.98, £10 cheaper and rock solid pieces of kit.
Also when/if Freeview shuts down you won’t have to keep a large box under your TV for no reason.
On the recording of Freely though, I see no reason why it couldn’t happen, didn’t the BT Youview recorder record Now(TV)?
Alternatively, the first TiVos could record from an external source, so I see no reason why some company couldn’t do the same again from a Freely box.
For the price point you would think it should at least ship with the latest version of android. The Netgem Pleio comes with android 14 yet the Humax only ships with12. Lets hope that at least it has ALL apps available.
I seems pointless to have freely on a device that can record then if you can’t take advantage of the higher quality streaming channels for recording and by the sounds of it will have to disable it all together to record more than handful of channels that are left a Freeview only. It seems strange that they don’t just release a separate freely device like others have if the recording function can’t be taken advantage of.
If you cannot record the freely service then this device is an over priced waste of time. Freeview picture quality has deteriated. When they close down Freeview, you will have a obsolete recorder. I think Humax are missing the point. The powers that be, don’t want people to be able to record. THEY want to be in total control and force adverts on you. Whats needed is a cheap mass produced Freely dongle.
Are you aware that ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 on Freely all have low frame rates – 25fps seems to be the concensus, compared to Freeview/Freesat where they are 50fps? Give me Freeview any day.
I supose that means 25fps progresive whareas freeview is broadcast as 50fps interlaced which is the equialent of 25fps.
HD is good on freeview but standard def. is still very poor.
Perhaps it’s just me but I feel the spec and price point make this dead in the water.